Last year, a paper published in Sciencemade waves with the stunning claim that the human nose can detect a whopping one trillion different odors. But if you feel like your nose can’t detect a trillion smells, you may be on to something. It’s possible that none of us can. »7/07/15 3:40pm 7/07/15 3:40pm

When you're hacking your way through a sweltering jungle in virtual reality, wouldn't you like to feel as disgustingly hot and humid as your video game character? To smell that distinctive jungle scent? No? Then you'd sure as hell better not pay $250 for the Feelreal this summer. »3/06/15 3:20pm 3/06/15 3:20pm

I was never a pillowcase kid. Fill the sheets that I put my head on with the goods, risking an errant Mr. Goodbar besmirching my sleeping quarters? No thanks. Besides, a pillowcase would need to go in the wash eventually. My plastic pumpkin was a dedicated trick-or-treating device. And somehow, it managed to stay…»10/31/14 12:56pm 10/31/14 12:56pm

It's easy to notice on a street corner, but hard to track as you navigate an entire city: smell, despite being a crucial stimulus, is much harder to quantify than other sensory cues like sound or light. But that hasn't stopped Kate McLean from trying. »10/14/14 6:30am 10/14/14 6:30am

Think back to when you were a child visiting your grandparent's home. Do you recall a distinct scent when you walked through the door? Many people do and it turns out, it's not just in your head. »11/27/13 8:00am 11/27/13 8:00am

Have you had trouble shaking that fear of snakes or dogs or spiders? Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a new technique to rechannel memories while subjects sleep—by blasting them with various odors. It's like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in Smell-o-Vision. »9/23/13 2:43pm 9/23/13 2:43pm

Doesn't it seem like being able to smell a TV show would be undesirable a lot of the time? Alex Trebek's cologne would be wafting around your grandma's all through Easter dinner and then your house would smell like blood after the Game of Thrones premier. »3/31/13 3:30pm 3/31/13 3:30pm

Imagine eternally odorless public restrooms, or stink-free changing rooms. Amazingly, researchers claim to have discovered what they're calling a "white smell"—an odor made up so many complex aromas that it's neither pleasant or foul-smelling, in no way overwhelming, and could be the most effective air-freshener ever. »11/20/12 9:03am 11/20/12 9:03am

Well this is cool. A professor of chemistry at Caltech, Nate Lewis, is developing something called sensory vapor technology, in essence is an electronic way to sniff out bombs and certain illnesses and even something like Anthrax, avoiding any of the risks such scenarios would pose to an actual human-flesh nose. »5/10/12 10:20pm 5/10/12 10:20pm

Some people can pinpoint odors better than others—which can be both good or bad, depending on the source. But new research reveals that it's people who are more anxious that have a heightened sense of smell. »4/13/12 6:13am 4/13/12 6:13am

The smell of a favorite food can literally make your mouth water. But a new study suggests that the stronger a food smells, the less of it you'll eat—so it might be time for dieters to reach for the cured fish and curry. »3/21/12 8:37am 3/21/12 8:37am

Coffee from your favorite donut shop has a problem. It doesn't taste as good as it should because the lid traps in the wonderful aroma. Taste is 95% smell, so you're really missing out. »8/05/11 12:37am 8/05/11 12:37am

How would you like it if your TV could fart? It sounds absurd, but that's what's on the table with Samsung's latest revival of the Smell-O-Vision concept. And this time the tech looks real enough that it might actually happen. »6/17/11 1:32pm 6/17/11 1:32pm

In a survey of 7,000 16-to-30-year-olds, a not-entirely-surprising 53 percent chose tech over their sense of smell. Most of us here at Giz picked tech, since we'd obviously be massively unemployed without it. When we put the question to you on Twitter, most of you agreed with us, though our readers might not be the… »5/26/11 9:00pm 5/26/11 9:00pm

Recently I found myself asking someone why the hell his company's new product stinks so much that I want to leap out of my second floor window. Insulted by my question or not, he explained that new gadget smell. »10/05/10 7:20pm 10/05/10 7:20pm